A survey of 660 Hone Health members highlights perimenopause uncertainty. Read the findings, limits and separate context for sexual wellbeing.
Hone Health’s October 2026 survey of female members highlighted uncertainty about recognizing perimenopause. According to a report carried by KRDO/Stacker, seven in ten respondents said they did not recognize or were unsure that their symptoms were related to perimenopause.
The finding raises a useful question: when does perimenopause belong in a conversation about changing wellbeing? The report draws attention to early symptoms beyond changes in periods. For readers thinking about sexual wellbeing, the starting point is understanding exactly what this awareness finding describes.
The survey included 660 female Hone Health members and asked about their experiences with perimenopause symptoms and treatment. Responses relied on participants’ own recollections. This was a self-report survey rather than an experiment.
Respondents described the age when symptoms began and which changes appeared among their first three symptoms. They also reported whether they initially connected those changes with perimenopause and aspects of their experience seeking care.
The questions therefore addressed more than familiarity with the word perimenopause. They also concerned whether respondents connected that concept with changes in their own lives. Knowing a term and recognizing its possible relevance are different questions.
Another important detail is the phrase “first three symptoms.” The report describes several changes that respondents remembered early in their experience. It does not present a single symptom as the universal starting point.
According to KRDO/Stacker’s account, seven in ten respondents either did not recognize the connection with perimenopause or were unsure about it. That combined finding includes uncertainty as well as lack of recognition. Separately, 8% said they did not know what perimenopause was.
Many respondents recalled symptoms beginning before an age they might have associated with the transition. More than 55% said symptoms began before age 45. Meanwhile, 26% said they noticed symptoms in their 30s.
The symptoms respondents included among their first three were:
These figures describe which symptoms appeared among respondents’ first three recalled changes. In this group, period changes were less often included than several other symptoms. That is different from saying that everyone’s periods remained unchanged.
The report also described uncertainty around seeking care. Nearly 10% said they delayed seeking treatment because they thought they were too young or still had regular periods.
Nearly half said a doctor had attributed their symptoms to another cause before considering perimenopause. Among that group, 55% said they had been told the symptoms were due to normal aging. The distinction between the whole sample and this subgroup matters when reading that figure.
The respondents were Hone Health members, not a stated representative sample of all women. Their experiences should not be treated as population-wide estimates. The survey describes awareness and reported experiences rather than the prevalence of perimenopause in the general population.
Because participants were recalling past events, the findings depend on memory. Symptom onset and diagnoses were not clinically verified through the survey. It cannot establish that perimenopause caused every reported symptom, including symptoms reported while periods remained regular.
The accounts of earlier medical explanations also need careful interpretation. They are not an independent review of clinical records and do not establish that clinicians generally misdiagnose perimenopause. The report’s expert commentary comes from Hone-affiliated OB-GYN Shelly Chvotzkin, not an independent assessment of clinician training.
For sexual-wellness coverage, there is a further boundary: the report provides no survey-specific percentages for libido or arousal. It also provides none for vaginal dryness, painful sex or sexual activity. It therefore supplies no rate at which sexual changes occurred or were overlooked.
Finally, although the survey asked about treatment experiences, these responses do not establish the effectiveness of any treatment. Its contribution is an account of recognition and experience, not a comparison of care options.
The survey fits alongside an existing clinical description of the menopausal transition. NIH describes perimenopause as the years leading up to menopause. During this time, ovarian production of estrogen and progesterone declines and periods may become irregular.
Chvotzkin’s interpretation in the survey report adds a point relevant to the awareness question: regular periods do not automatically rule out perimenopause. She said hormonal shifts and symptoms can occur while cycles remain predictable. Her explanation addresses why waiting for a clear period change may not match every person’s experience.
In October 2026, ACOG also said that perimenopause and menopause symptoms may occur for many years before periods permanently stop and for years afterward. This places the survey within a broader understanding of symptoms across the transition rather than treating it as a new clinical definition.
For sexual comfort, separate NIH information provides a specific connection. NIH notes that vaginal dryness can occur around menopause and can make intercourse uncomfortable. That is a clinical context for discussing intimacy alongside other midlife changes.
A question about comfort is not the same as a question about sexual interest. Describing these separately makes the subject more precise. Sexential’s explanation of the differences between desire and physical response offers further background for readers sorting out those terms.
The awareness survey and the clinical guidance serve different purposes. One describes how a particular group remembered recognizing symptoms. The other supplies established context about the transition and a possible source of sexual discomfort.
The practical value of this report is a more specific conversation, not a conclusion drawn from a symptom list. The research supports describing the timing and combination of changes to a healthcare professional. That discussion can include periods without making them the only subject.
Useful questions for organizing that conversation include:
These questions organize a history rather than create a symptom score. A qualified healthcare professional can consider that history in the context of the individual’s health. The survey does not supply an age threshold or symptom count that readers need to meet before discussing a concern.
For someone uncertain about the transition itself, background on how perimenopause can affect everyday wellbeing can help clarify the language used in that discussion. The aim is to describe what has changed as accurately as possible.
Sexual concerns deserve the same precision. Saying that intercourse has become uncomfortable communicates something different from saying that sexual interest has changed. Both subjects can be named directly without having to fit them under the broad phrase “low libido.”
Questions about changing desire across life stages can sit alongside questions about periods and other symptoms. There is room to discuss more than one aspect of wellbeing in the same appointment. The person experiencing the change does not need to arrive with a complete explanation.
For readers who have felt uncertain about whether a concern is worth mentioning, the survey offers a useful topic for discussion: recognition itself. A conversation can begin with what feels different and when it began. It does not have to begin with certainty about the label.
Clear questions leave room for careful answers.
A perimenopause awareness statistic can be mistaken for an explanation of changed desire, a shortcut Sexential avoids through evidence-aware education. Its writing addresses confusion about libido and arousal by placing hormones alongside confidence and relationships, helping adults understand sexual wellbeing without treating general information as a personal diagnosis.
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